Neat
Time Schedule
Overview
We all have it. A junk drawer, a messy closet, a pile of mail, lids but no containers. A little clutter, a little bit of chaos. But what happens when that little bit of chaos becomes a big mess? You’ve got major clutter that is blocking your chances for success and happiness. And it’s time to call in the neat team!
Episode 1 – Too Much, Too Fast
When your life changes, your organizing systems need to change too. Kristin and Michael merged households, got married and had a baby in the span of a year. Neat to the rescue! Hellen corrals duplicate household items, wedding gifts and baby paraphernalia into manageable systems that free up space and time. Watch this episode of neat and learn how to store warranties and special mementos.
Episode 2 – Packed to the Max!
Moving clutter from one location to the next can prevent you from settling down. Brenda and Brian have spent much of their twenty years together moving from city to city, never staying anywhere long enough to call home. Years of unopened boxes, toys, old clothes and mementos have taken their basement hostage and taken over their lives. Hellen meets the challenge with a not to be missed “stopwatch” purging technique, strategically designed for long-term clutter offenders. Spotlight on how to categorize and store family photos and how to use toolbox containers to organize kid’s crafts.
Episode 3 – Captured by Clutter
Sometimes clutter is not only a physical barrier, but an emotional one that blocks the way to your dreams. Abby is a single mom who has sacrificed much in raising her kids and has neglected to take care of herself along the way. An aspiring photographer, Abby’s home is so choked by clutter that she can’t move forward towards her goals. In this touching episode, Hellen helps Abby turn her life and space around by giving her the confidence she needs to believe in herself. Spotlight on how to create freelance job files, how to use zones to separate business from personal, and how to create a unified photo display area.
Episode 4 – Time to make a change
When clutter comes in the way of family togetherness it’s time to make a change. Lisa, Izy and their three teenaged children are a close knit, active family with just a few years left under the same roof. The upstairs of their home is neat and tidy but their communal “wreck” room provokes arguments. With everyone’s energies focused on the task at hand, Hellen helps the family lay claim to an organized and effective, multi-functional family room. Spotlight on how to safe-keep and honour family memorabilia using shadow boxes and how-to set up a multi-purpose room.
Episode 5 – Now or Never
Paring down is an important step in getting organized. Shelly is a super mom who tries to do it all. Beneath the surface, however, lies the ghost of paraphernalia past. Shelly’s bedroom is drowning in clutter – children’s artwork, exercise equipment and clothes cover every available surface. Her home office is buried in so much clutter that she can’t even find a pen. With Hellen’s help, Shelly learns some organizational strategies to help her work effectively and enjoy family life. Spotlight on: How to safely store kids artwork; how to create extra storage in a bathroom lacking shelf space; and how to file important paperwork in a lateral filing organizer.
Episode 6 – Love by Clutter
De-cluttering can actually re-kindle a relationship! AnnaMarie’s clutter is a bone of contention between her and her husband Duncan. In an effort to keep the rest of the home tidy, she has turned their master bedroom into a disastrous dumping zone for everything that doesn’t have a place elsewhere in the house. In this episode of Neat, Hellen teaches AnnaMarie to respect her bedroom and shows her and Duncan how to prioritize their shared space – and their relationship. Spotlight on: How to determine which magazine storage solution suits you best; and how to store off-season clothing year-round.
Episode 7 – Upsize This
Buying a bigger house won’t necessarily solve your clutter problems. Nathalie and Mark recently upsized to their dream home, but even though there’s more space, they’re frustrated by all the clutter. Utensils and paperwork mingle in their kitchen and their spare room is boxed in by belongings that weren’t edited before they moved. With Hellen’s help, Nathalie and Mark unpack their boxes and learn organizing solutions from the ground up. Spotlight on: how to create a guest welcome basket; and keeping a home running smoothly with a House Manager.
Episode 8 – Breaking Free
People who have experienced loss sometimes comfort themselves with clutter. Robert’s home and family life are being affected by his strong emotional attachment to “stuff”, a tendency that’s tied to his family’s experience as detainees during WWII. Since recently downsizing, Robert has had to confront the fact that his collections are crowding out his family and he’s strongly motivated to make a difficult life change. In this episode of Neat, Hellen helps Robert to overcome his attachment to clutter and to make space for his family instead. Spotlight on: How to use some simple rules to prevent clutter build-up.
Episode 9 – Cluttered Inspiration
Amir is a graphic designer, dependent on a creative space to provide inspiration, but with a home office so catastrophically messy it ends up blocking his creativity. In this episode of Neat, Hellen gives Amir the tools he’ll need to maximize his artistic sensibility. Spotlight on: How to minimize paper pile-up with a horizontal filing system and, how to create a creative reference library of inspirational files.
Episode 10 – Lofty Mess
When Max moved from cramped living quarters in Japan to a spacious Toronto
loft, he squandered precious living space by piling everything into mountains of clutter.
In this episode of Neat, Hellen shows Max how to combat his clutter by using zones to organize and maintain his stunning open concept loft. Spotlight on: How to organize a sea of techno-wires and how to take advantage of the height in a loft space for vertical storage.
Episode 11 – Magnet for Clutter
Keeping your kids’ stuff close is not necessarily a way to keep your family together. Karin’s eldest daughter has just left the nest to start her own life and Karin feels nostalgic about the kids still living at home. As a result, she’s allowed everyone and all their things to invade her and her husband’s master bedroom. The lack of boundaries has turned the bedroom into a giant magnet for clutter – attracting detritus from all over the house. Hellen helps Karin reclaim her space and tame the clutter without adversely affecting the family’s relationship. Spotlight on how to create project boxes for on-going, multi-faceted projects and establishing ground rules for Mom and Dad’s room.
Episode 12 – Clutter with Character
Getting back to work can be tough for new moms. Laura is a well-traveled and accomplished writer who wants to resume her career from her bedroom office. But since motherhood, her space has exploded into a hazardous collision of collectibles and clutter. Hellen puts Laura back on course by dividing her bedroom into distinct child-safe zones designed to honour her eclectic taste and literary talent. Spotlight on; how to childproof your bedroom and how to display your treasured collections without cluttering your space.
Episode 13 – Blast from the Past
Getting the past out into the open and having a laugh over it can be an easy way to let go. Newlyweds Angela and Phillip have just settled into their new home with their newborn baby, but shadows from Angela’s past lurk in the basement. A dizzying array of boxes of childhood memorabilia, old school books and wedding photos, is stockpiled in what should be the home office. As a result, the rest of the basement space is poorly used and Angela and Phillip are frustrated by their space. In this amusing episode of Neat, Hellen and Angela go on a trip down memory lane and over some laughs and tears, Angela finally lets go of her past to make room for her future. Spotlight on preserving your memorabilia in a decorative shadow box coffee table, how to store your holiday decorations and efficient laundry room set-up.
Episode 14 – Spring Fling
It’s spring! And there’s nothing like a change of season to change the way you look at your home. Heidi and Geoff are heads of a busy, active family but the areas where all their gear is stored are so cluttered, they may end up spending the season inside. Without proper systems, seasonal changeover has become such a challenge that Heidi and Geoff find themselves putting away Christmas ornaments in June and locating sun-hats in February. In this special episode, Hellen takes on Heidi and Geoff’s cluttered garage and front entry-way and gives them organizing systems that smooth the seasonal transitions. Spotlight on zoning your garage with space-maximizing solutions and how-to start the day off right from a launch pad.